Each year during peak construction season, approximately 20 percent of America’s highway system is under construction, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. Tasks such as paving, painting, concrete cutting, utility work, guard rail assembly and many more are conducted in these 3,000+ work zones among a complex array of signs, barriers, lane changes, heavy machinery and the motoring public.
In road construction work zones, more than 100 workers are killed and 20,000 workers are injured annually, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Safety managers and workers alike should be familiar with the American National Standards Institute/ASSE Standard A10.47-2009: Work Zone Safety for Highway Construction, which applies to everyone engaged in construction, utility work, maintenance or repair activities on any area of a highway.